Is your company struggling to understand the Chinese health care system, the spectrum of medical insurance in China and how the new Social Insurance Law affects your non-local employees? The recently launched GlobalBusinessProfessor.com, a partner to aftermarketNews.com, is hosting a webinar that will address these very questions tomorrow, April 12 at 9 a.m. EDT.
For companies sending staff to China — whether for short-term business trips or extended stays — it is critical to understand the major differences in the health care system. Getting sick or getting in an accident abroad is serious and can be especially confusing to handle if you are not familiar with China’s health care system. For those companies doing business in China, there is also added cost involved for covering non-local employees under the country’s social medical system.
In this information-packed, hour-long webinar, presenters including Anthony Hidell, sales director for Cigna, a global health benefits and services provider and China Merchants Corp. (CMC), Cigna’s joint venture in Shanghai; Michelle Colona vice president, National Accounts, Cigna International; and Kevin Zhou, regional vice president – Global Health Benefits CIGNA & CMC Life Insurance Co. Ltd., will provide an overview of the Chinese market as a framework for understanding the country’s complex Social Insurance Law and multi-tiered health care system. Webinar participants will learn the differences between public vs. private hospitals and local hires vs. non-local hires, as well as medical insurance options and local market practice for each.
"When you look at the health care industry in China, it’s a very immature market," said Hidell, one of the webinar presenters.
China’s Social Insurance Law, first introduced in late 2010 took effect in China in July 2011. It was also recently expanded to include foreign employees. However, the program is still in various phases of implementation across China’s various provinces, according to Hidell. This is just one of the complexities that could impact your medical coverage working as an expat in China.
"For example, in Shanghai, that new social insurance law that requires foreign employees to be enrolled in basic social medical has not been imposed. In Beijing, it has been enforced. What that means is, any employer hiring non-locals now has to pay the added tax to have them enrolled in the social medical program. Why that’s important is because it is an added cost to hiring non-locals, and it is a cost that a lot of people question the intention of the Chinese government on because quite frankly, there is no way that a foreigner is going to feel comfortable actually accessing the social medical system," Hidell said.
To gain a better grasp of these issues, GlobalBusinessProferssor.com will host a live online webinar titled "Expat Healthcare Issues in China" on Thursday, April 12 at 9 a.m. EDT. Click here for more information and to register.
